With the recognition that the new Franciscan Health Michigan City healthcare facility will be a community gathering place as well as a hospital, Horizon Bank and NIPSCO have sponsored two of the areas that will be used by the public.

The mission of the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) is to empower residents to live healthy and well in and around La Porte, Indiana to achieve the vision of La Porte becoming one of the 10 healthiest communities in Indiana by 2030. In pursuit of this mission and vision, HFL has grant applications for health and wellness projects available until February 22, 2019.

The Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) will once again be able to fund mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women in La Porte and Starke County who do not have the resources to pay for these services. The Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust (IBCAT) awarded a $16,000 grant for 2019 to continue HFL’s Breast Cancer Project.

The Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust has awarded $59,380 in grants to support Franciscan Alliance programs that provide screenings and post-diagnostic services. The grants assist lower-income, medically underserved Hoosier women who have had a breast cancer diagnosis, with food, transportation, rent and utilities.

La Porte Hospital wants women to know their symptoms of heart disease can be very different than those experienced by men. While we’ve all become familiar with the “Hollywood heart attack” (man suddenly clutches chest and immediately falls unconscious), only a portion of victims will experience a heart attack in this way – and women’s symptoms are often significantly different. According to the American Heart Association, more women die from heart disease each year than men. Furthermore, women can often reverse existing heart disease and certainly prevent heart disease through good nutrition.

St. Mary Medical Center is one of 18 hospitals or health centers nationwide participating in the Cessation and Screening to Save Lives (CASTL) Trial, which looks to identify the most effective tobacco-cessation techniques for lung cancer screening programs. The study is being conducted by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health and the Lung Cancer Alliance Screening Centers of Excellence Network which includes St. Mary Medical Center.

La Porte Hospital is pleased to announce that Dr. Adam Conn has been appointed as the Medical Director of its Wound Care services. Wound Care services combines the expertise of specialized wound care providers and nurses with the resources of an advanced medical procedures to expedite healing for wounds. The La Porte Hospital’s Wound Care service opened in 2018 and is located on the first floor of the hospital at 1007 Lincolnway in La Porte.

It’s my privilege to serve as the new President/CEO of the VNA of Northwest Indiana. I’m humbled and honored beyond words to lead this organization and know that I’m standing on the shoulders of giants of past board members, supporters, and especially founder Laura Harting. To be given the trust of our board and staff, of our patients and community is an awesome thing. Trust.

It’s a big word. It means a lot of things in different contexts; bankers think about it one way, investors have a different take, but for most of us it is the foundation of our relationships. Trust is the conglomeration of a lot of different components such as integrity, faith, loyalty, and commitment. It is not to be taken lightly, nor is it a commodity whose value fluctuates with whatever conditions exist. I take it very seriously.

La Porte Hospital and Dr. Ashley Kirkwood of La Porte Physician Network are focusing on helping women in our community prevent cervical cancer. One of the great success stories in cancer research, since annual Pap test cervical cancer screenings were introduced in the 1950s, cases of what was once the number one cancer in women have plummeted. Human Papillovirus (HPV) vaccination has further reduced the numbers.